• 16 parts
  • Checked October 2026

Outer Ear Diagram

The folds of the auricle from the side, then the ear canal cut open.

Outer Ear Diagram

Name Date

Tap any part to read, rename or leave it out

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16
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Write the name of each numbered part.Answer key

  1. Helix
  2. Antihelix
  3. Concha
  4. Tragus
  5. Lobule (earlobe)
  6. Opening of the ear canal
  7. Antitragus
  8. Intertragic notch
  9. Crus of the helix
  10. Crura of the antihelix
  11. Triangular fossa
  12. Scapha
  13. Auricular cartilage
  14. Cartilage part of the canal
  15. Bony part of the canal
  16. Eardrum (tympanic membrane)

Drawn for this site on 2026-10-01 from plain geometry. Licence: own work.

Each numbered ring is a button. Use the arrow keys to move between them and Enter to choose. Names are read out in Study, and once a part is answered.

Next step Next: the middle ear, behind the eardrum

All 16 parts on the diagram

Show the list

The auricle 12

  1. Helix The rolled outer rim of the auricle.
  2. Antihelix A second curved ridge, inside the helix and parallel to it.
  3. Concha The deep hollow at the auricle's center. It leads into the ear canal.
  4. Tragus A small flap in front of the concha. It points backward over the opening of the ear canal.
  5. Lobule (earlobe) The soft lower end of the auricle. It is the one part with no cartilage inside.
  6. Opening of the ear canal Where the ear canal begins, in the floor of the concha.
  7. Antitragus A small bump opposite the tragus. It sits at the lower end of the antihelix.
  8. Intertragic notch The notch between the tragus and the antitragus.
  9. Crus of the helix The start of the helix. It runs across the concha, just above the ear canal.
  10. Crura of the antihelix The two arms into which the antihelix forks at the top.
  11. Triangular fossa The small hollow between the two crura of the antihelix.
  12. Scapha The narrow curved groove separating helix and antihelix.

The canal, cut 4

  1. Auricular cartilage The plate of elastic cartilage that gives the auricle its shape.
  2. Cartilage part of the canal The outer third of the ear canal. Its wall is cartilage, continuous with that of the auricle.
  3. Bony part of the canal The inner two thirds of the ear canal. Its wall is the temporal bone.
  4. Eardrum (tympanic membrane) A thin sheet across the inner end of the ear canal. The middle ear lies behind it.

How this list was compiled: Every name checked on 2026-10-01 in at least two of these. (1) Henry Gray, Anatomy of the Human Body (1918), The External Ear, https://www.bartleby.com/lit-hub/anatomy-of-the-human-body/1d-1-the-external-ear/ (every ridge and hollow of the auricle; the two parts of the canal). (2) Wikipedia, English edition, Auricle (anatomy) and Ear canal, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Auricle_(anatomy) and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ear_canal. (3) TeachMeAnatomy, The External Ear, https://teachmeanatomy.info/head/organs/ear/external-ear/. (4) Kenhub, Outer ear, https://www.kenhub.com/en/library/anatomy/outer-ear. The Wikipedia list of auricle parts follows Gray closely, so a name counts only when the third or fourth source has it too. Detail lines are in our own words. Licence: own work

The drawing: Drawn for this site on 2026-10-01 from plain geometry; nothing traced. Licence: own work

How it works

The first drawing is a right ear from the side, with the anatomy of the outer ear labeled fold by fold. The second cuts through the ear canal, the rest of the external ear, as far as the eardrum.

Read the full guide

Rim first, then the hollows

Numbers 1 to 5 are the parts most figures ask: the helix, the antihelix, the concha, the tragus and the lobule. Number 6 is the opening of the ear canal, behind the tragus. Numbers 7 and 8 are the antitragus and the notch between it and the tragus. Numbers 9 to 12 are the finer folds: the crus of the helix, the two crura of the antihelix, the triangular fossa and the scapha. In the cut, 13 to 16 run inward: the auricular cartilage, the cartilage part of the canal, the bony part and the eardrum.

  • Anti means opposite: the antihelix faces the helix across the scapha, and the antitragus faces the tragus across the notch.
  • The ridges are cartilage under skin. The lobule is the only part of the auricle without any.

Questions and answers

What are the parts of the outer ear?

The auricle, which is the flap on the side of the head, and the ear canal, which runs from the hollow of the auricle to the eardrum. Outer ear and external ear are two names for the same thing.

What is the difference between the helix and the antihelix?

The helix is the rolled outer rim of the auricle. The antihelix is a second ridge inside it and parallel to it, which forks at the top into two crura with the triangular fossa between them.

Where is the tragus?

At the front of the ear. It is the small flap in front of the concha that points backward over the opening of the ear canal. The antitragus is the bump opposite it.

Is the ear canal made of cartilage or bone?

Both. The wall of the outer third is cartilage, continuous with the cartilage of the auricle. The wall of the inner two thirds is the temporal bone. The canal ends at the eardrum.

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